Flight timing apparatus



June 13, 1950 H. BATT 2,511,763

FLIGHT TIMING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1946 NAME AIRCRAFT N INSTRUCTION HIRE Fiq. 3

PUSH FRONT ONLY WHEN LEAVlHG AND RETURNING FROM HOME. AIRPORT RESTIHG TIME WILL BE CALCULATED FROM INVEHTOR RECORD CARD H Fig. 4 '3! 27 T 'YS is divided by the diaphragm l3.

connects between chamber I2 and the Pitot tube Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,511,763 FLIGHT TIMING APPARATUS Henry Batt, Toronto, Ontario. Canada Application April 4, 1946, Serial No. 659,453 Claims. (01. 346i-20) 1 This invention relates to flight timing apparatus.

It is desirable to have an accurate means for determining the time of flight particularly where "airplanes are rented in order that the proper charge per hour may be levied by the owner.

It is also desirable in other cases such as to record the time of flight in the case of periods of instruction and for indicating the hours of practice flying of students, etc. The present invention is directed to such an apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a time of flight recording apparatus which is generally simple in construction and which will be fool-proof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this kind wherein the time of flight is readily recorded on a card or sheet which may be used as a filing card or the like.

With these and other objects in view the invention generally comprises a clock instrument employing a normal clockwork, the said instrument operating in conjunction with the Pitot tube of the aircraft designed to set the clockwork in motion when the craft is placed in flight, and to stop the clockwork when the craft comes to rest, said apparatus including a recording card and means in connection with the hands of the clockwork for recording on the card the time of commencement of flight and the time of completion of flight.

The invention will be clearly understood by reference to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a longitudinal section taken through the timing apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the front face of a recording card or sheet employed with the present invention. 1

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a proposed rear face of the card or sheet shown in Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the face plate of the apparatus and illustrating proposed instructions .for operation.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a timing apparatus as a Whole according to the present invention which includes a casing H! which may be of cylindrical form. The casing ill is divided into two compartment H and i2, the former housing conventional clockwork mechanism and the latter providing a pressure chamber which A conduit "l4 of the aircraft so that when it is in flight the air' pressure affecting the diaphragm I 3 will caus it to be moved towards the chamber l I.

On the dividing partition [5 between the chambers H and-l2 a latch member I6 is pivotally mounted as at I7. This is provided with a finger 18' which normally is caused by suitable spring means to en'gagethe balance wheel IQ of the clock mechanism thereby to retain it from operation. The "latch member l6 has an arm 20 extended beyond the pivotal point I! thereof and designed to be engaged by a pin or other suitable means 2! carried by the diaphragm l3. Consequently when the craft is in flight the effect of air pressure directed through the Pitot tube through the conduit l4 against the diaphragm I3 will cause the pin 2| to depress arm 20 of the latch member 16 thereby to Withdraw the finger Hi from engagement with the balance wheel I9'. Accordingly; therefore, the clock mechanism is set in motion. Similarly, when the craft comes to rest the return of the diaphragm to its normal position will permit the latch member It to re- 'sume normal position so that the finger will engage the balance wheel IQ of the clockwork and stop it.

The clock mechanism is provided with the minute hand 22 and the hour hand 23. In this case, however, in contradistinction to conventional practice the hour hand is made longer than the minute hand in order to permit more ready recording of the time factors involved. The minute-hand is provided with the pointed punching'or marking element 24 while the hour hand is provided with a similar element 25 and these handslare formed from suitable spring metal so that they may be flexed as required.

The face plate 26 is mounted in the front of the casing l0 preferably hingedly mounted as at 21 fromthe suitable support 28 and spring held in position by suitable coil springs 29. The plate 26 is preferably provided with a lug or the like 3ll diametrically opposite its point of hinging which lug is slotted as at 3| and designed to extend over the bar 32 projecting at right angles from the front'of the apparatus. This bar is slotted towards its outer end for receiving suitable padlock 33.

p'articularlywhere the face of the card is designed to be disposed towards the body of the apparatus. The markings on the card will be anti-clockwise. However, where the reverse is the case and for instance some cushioning pad was carried by the inner surface of the face plate 26 the card might be marked in a clockwise manner.

When the card B is properly mounted on the face plate 26 the plate 26 is pushed inwardly by the pilot as flight commences and the plate will swing from its hinged point 21 inwardly against the pressure of the coil springs 29 to cause the points 24 and 25 of the hands 22 and 23 of the clock mechanism to punch into theface of the card. In this connection, the hands may flex and will be backed by the cover plate 35 of the compartment H. In this way the time of the start of the flight is indicated in hours and minutes on the card B. Likewise, on the completion of the flight the same operation takes place so that when the padlock 33 is removed it will be punched to show the exact duration of the flight. Moreover, since the mechanism is locked initially it is under the control of the proper oflicial and cannot be tampered with. In thisconnection any suitable casing may be employed to surround the area between the plate 35 and plate 26 to enclose it completely while permitting movement of the faceplate 26 as required.

The card B may readily serve as a record sheet and filed. In this connection the rear face may bear various data such as the name, date, type of aircraft, hours and minutes used, etc., so that it can form part of a complete system which 'is automatically filed or otherwise employed as-it is taken from the apparatus following a flight.

The face plate of the apparatus may bear, as indicated in Fig. 4, suitable indication as to how it is operated and it will be appreciated that it is a simple operation to push the faceplate at the start and finish of any flight in order accurately to record the elapsed time.

The apparatus, it will be appreciated, is of particularly simple character involving a regular clock mechanism with the addition of the face plate and card at one end and the air pressure responsive means at the other for starting and stopping the clock which will fit in automatically with the factors involved when the aircraft is used.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a flight timing apparatus of the class having a casing with a diaphragm mounted therein that is actuable from a, normal position by .an increase of exterior pressure; -a clock mechanism having at least one time indicating member, mounting means for mounting a recording sheet in spaced relation to the locus traced out by said time indicating member as it is driven by said clock mechanism, said mountingmeans being manually operable to cause relative movement between said indicating member and said recording sheet whereby the indicating member engages with the sheet toeffect a marking thereon, stalling means for said clock mechanism, means for causing said stalling means to assume a. normal position in locked engagement with said clock mechanism to stall it, means operatively connecting said stalling means with said diaphragm, said diaphragm being adapted to actuate said stalling means from its normal position to a position of disengagement with said clock mechanism when said diaphragm is actuated from its normal position by an increase of external pressure acting thereon. 1.2- In a fli ht ti ing ap aratus f the class having a casing with a diaphragm mounted thereon that is actuable from a normal position by an increase of exterior pressure; a clock mechanism having at least one time indicating hand, mounting means for mounting a recording sheet in spaced relation to the locus traced out by said time indicating hands as it is driven by said clock mechanism, said mounting means being manually operable to cause relative movement between said hand and said recording sheet whereby the hand engages with the sheet to effect a marking thereon, stalling means for said clock mechanism, means for causing said stalling means to assume a normal position in engagement with said clock mechanism 'to stall it, means operatively connecting said stalling means with said diaphragm,

said diaphragm being adapted to actuate said stalling means from its normal position to a position of disengagement with said clock mechanism when said diaphragm is actuated from its normal position by an increase of external pressure act ing thereon.

3. In a flight timing apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which said mounting means for mounting a recording sheet comprises a face plate and spring means for retaining said face plate in spaced relation to the locus traced out by said hand, said spring means being manually operable to cause the hand to engage said sheet as aforesaid.

4. In a flight timing apparatus of the class having a casing with a diaphragm mounted thereon that is actuable from a normal position by an increase of exterior pressure; a clock mechanism having at least one time indicating member, mounting means for mounting a recording sheet in spaced relation to the locus traced out by said time indicating member as it is driven by said clock mechanism, said mounting means being manually operable to cause relative movement between said indicating member and said recording sheet whereby the indicating member engages with the sheet to effect a marking thereon, a stalling latch member pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, spring means for causing said latch member to assume a normal position with one of its free ends in locked engagement with said clock member, pin means extending between said latch and said diaphragm whereby said diaphragm is caused to actuate said latch member to cause it to disengage from said clock member when said diaphragm is actuated from its normal position by an increase in external pressure.

5. In a flight timing apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said mounting means for mounting a recording sheet comprises a face plate and spring means for retaining said face plate in spaced relation to the locus traced out by said time indicating member, said spring means being manually operable to cause the time indicating member to engage said sheet as aforesaid.

HENRY BATT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in "the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Parsons d eams- Apr. 22, 1941 

